Last week I went to GP to request blood test as concerned that symptoms of shortness of breath, joint pains, tiredness etc suggested Levo levels not right. Yesterday had blood test and ECG. Am in total shock as the ECG shows I have had a heart attack! Waiting for GP to call me tomorrow morning re blood results and the ECG. (I had total thyroidectomy last June) could they be linked in any way?

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I am sorry you've had such a shock. Re 'what's caused the heart attack' you'll have investigation. There's no information on your profile so it would be helpful if you could a little history.

You had a thyroidectomy in June '15 and as I don't know anything about hyperthyroidism someone who does will respond. I don't know if you were given levothyroxine or any thyroid hormones.

I understand when tests show you are hypothyroid you are given levothyroxine.

Many have T3 added to the T4 too as it is the Active thyroid hormone needed in all our cells. If we don't have sufficient T3 our body cannot function adequately. This is an excerpt which might be helpful and I give the link below:-

Dr. Lowe: As I emphasized in The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia,[1] all doctors who treat patients with thyroid hormone should cautiously protect the patients from adverse effects on the heart. The only accurate way to assess the effect of thyroid hormone on a patient’s heart is to directly monitor cardiac status. At minimum, monitoring should involve the doctor’s attention to any symptoms the patient may have that suggest cardiac over-stimulation and EKGs. If the doctor is in doubt, he should refer the patient for evaluation by a cardiologist.

I want to emphasize that the TSH test has nothing whatever to do with guarding a patient’s cardiac safety. To infer that a patient has cardiac over-stimulation because the TSH level is low is scientifically unjustified and logically unsound. It is ludicrous for a doctor to make this inference when he can easily and directly monitor how the patient’s heart is responding.

Let me emphasize another important point: Some conventional endocrinologists have grossly exaggerated the cardiac risks of TSH-suppressive doses of thyroid hormone. When compared to replacement doses of thyroid hormone, TSH-suppressive doses are not associated with an increased incidence of ischemic heart disease. In fact, TSH-suppressive doses of thyroid hormone protect the heart. TSH-suppressive dosages lower the levels of blood fats more than replacement doses do. And higher-end doses of thyroid hormone can halt the progression of coronary artery disease. In patients who don’t have coronary artery disease, myocardial ischemia and/or infarction are rare even in those who are thyrotoxic. Moreover, restricting many patients to replacement doses predisposes them to cardiovascular disease and premature death. With these patients, erring on the side of safety means one thing—allowing them to use higher-end rather than lower-end doses of thyroid hormone.

In most patients, then, TSH-suppressive doses of thyroid hormone don’t harm the heart. This justifies Dr. L.E. Shapiro writing in 1997, "In the absence of symptoms of thyrotoxicosis, patients treated with TSH-suppressive doses of L-T4 may be followed clinically without specific cardiac laboratory studies."[2]

joint pains etc indicate inadequate thyroid replacement or inability to convert the t4 into t3 which all cells need to function

this coulkd well be due to low

Ferritin

Folate

B12

Vit d3

plus very likely Vit B and Vit C along with zinc and magnesium if you previously had Graves Disease or Cancer both of which place a huge drain on entire vitamin status of the body not that most doctors will recognise or face the fact

I was put on Levothyroxine due to hypothyroid. A few months later I had a heart attack. A mild one thank goodness but it led to days in hospital waiting for an angiogram which was clear. I had to wait ages for other tests, echocardiogram and MRI to see where the damage was. It was very small but the worst thing was the anxiety it caused, my thyroid was lowered and I became a nervous wreck. But having been through it I got well again by going to a private doctor/nutritionist who did mineral tests on me and found me to be very low on magnesium and very low on zinc. When I asked the cardiologist about the low magnesium she said that I was borderline, so they didn't bother to tell me. Get a print out of all your test results. I also conquered the anxiety by going to a herbalist with amazing results. I also went to Dr P and paid for proper thyroid tests, he helped me greatly. I was under a heap load of chronic stress at the time, everything was going wrong in my life and had lost my Dad.

Now, I take good vitamin/mineral supplements, continue to take the herbal tincture, I go for a good walk morning and evening every day. I went to the cardiac fit clinic which helped by making friends. I became very heart sensitive but its all part of it. Take a good magnesium supplement which helps with heart palpitations. You are not alone and hopefully you haven't needed to have anything done. Good luck but you do need to take some nutrients to help the heart. Go to